Finding & picking your perfect Bulldog Puppy - Ep 03

We'll explore the journey of finding the perfect Bulldog puppy, uncovering valuable insights for potential owners and breeders.

• Is the Bulldog Right for You?: We emphasise the importance of thorough research beyond surface-level understanding. Attending dog shows and joining local breed clubs can provide invaluable insights into the Bulldog breed's quirks and nuances.
• Finding your 5-star Breeder: We share expert tips on identifying reputable breeders and building long-term relationships. Recommendations, thorough communication, and an understanding of the breeder's breeding goals are crucial to securing a healthy Bulldog puppy.
• Picking the Right Puppy: We offer practical advice for selecting the ideal Bulldog puppy, focusing on critical physical traits such as neck length, nostril openness, and wrinkle minimalism. We also explain why coat colour and vaccination history should be less important than health and temperament. 

Join us on the Bulldog Broadcast community, where we discuss almost everything about the breed. Remember to subscribe and share the podcast with fellow breed enthusiasts.

📝 Click to read Show Notes

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Want to uncover the secrets to finding the perfect Bulldog companion? Have you ever considered attending a dog show and why being part of a breed club could be your golden ticket to puppy paradise? Today, we're diving into the world of show based breeders and their hidden gems.

[00:00:21] Welcome to the Bulldog Broadcast, the pure talk pedigree podcast. Join me Sara Lamont as we delve beyond the pedigree propaganda and misinformation surrounding the beloved Bulldog breed. Together we'll uncover the real life realities of Bulldogs sharing insights with admirers, owners and breeders worldwide.

[00:00:42] Hello and welcome. We're going to look at how you can find and pick a decent puppy. Now I hadn't really appreciated how difficult this was nowadays until I was looking for a puppy myself and that was my Labrador because I hadn't, I hadn't actually purchased a Bulldog. Sounds crazy but I don't think because My mum originally purchased the dogs that started our foundation lines.

[00:01:14] I hadn't purchased a Bulldog, I think it was like 15 or 20 years. And I think I've mentioned before in other episodes, normally if I'm going to buy a Bulldog in, it's for a particular reason, for a particular bloodline, and have a fair bit of confidence as to what certain bloodlines hold and what I would, would get from that.

[00:01:36] However, When I was looking for my Labrador, that was a whole different ball game. Actually, and even the French Bulldog was a slightly different ball game, but the most recent was the Labrador. And I had been looking online. I do know a few Labrador breeders, but I was keen to buy from a Labrador that wasn't from my local area because I wanted to use a local stud dog eventually.

[00:02:00] So I was actually going to a dog show, talking to a Bulldog person, and that Bulldog, and we were just talking about other breeds, and then I said, oh, one day I'm going to get a Labrador and they said they wanted a Chow Chow, funny enough, so it just goes to show. I think, yeah, many show breeders nowadays, they tend to have their show dogs, and the breed that they take super, super seriously, and then they tend to have a second breed that's just a bit more fun, and, you know, Takes a bit of pressure off constantly analysing all of, all of your dogs all of the time to have a second breed that's a bit more, you can enjoy a bit more.

[00:02:37] Anyway, thankfully talking to this show Bulldog person, she said, Oh, do you know what? My local Ringcraft and Ringcraft is, Dog training, or like, show school for dogs. It's where they learn to stand still enough for a judge to assess the dog. It's how they learn to walk or gait at the correct pace. It's where they learn to move in a particular sequence of around a show ring and just some of the nuances to showing a dog to its best capacity. And yeah, she said, you know what, there's a chocolate Labrador. So I wanted a chocolate. There's a chocolate Labrador at my local Ringcraft and he's just cider litter. So she passed on the details and I made contact. That was actually the stud. I made contact with the, the breeder that used that stud who was actually less the way if I'm going off the top of my head and yeah, the rest was history.

[00:03:36] Yeah. And yeah, we had the phone call, obviously I said, you know, I'm experienced in dogs, so I understand Labrador is a totally different type of dog. And, and that's almost why I'm, I'm looking to buy a Labrador cause I want different. Had a really good detailed conversation. I'd already sent her an email explaining a few bits and bobs.

[00:03:54] I was happy to send a deposit before I actually went to see the pups, which she didn't want one, which a lot of breeders are like that. I don't take that stance anymore and I think it probably should change, but that's probably for another podcast or another episode. Anyway, went to view the pups, six weeks, super happy with them, left my deposit and then went back at eight weeks to collect the puppy.

[00:04:15] And yeah, as they say, the rest is history and Spicey, as I called her, is now, as in Variety is the spice of life, being my non, my first non bull breed of dog. She I think she'll be three this year. So yeah, time has seemed to have gone super fast. It was just good that I found her through recommendation and I know many an item, product, idea is, it comes from a friend of a friend if that makes sense.

[00:04:43] So the problem you have is if you're not in those circles how do you get recommended a decent breeder? So let's start at the beginning. First of all, is the Bulldog the right breed for you? So have you done some basic research? And this is more than just what you understand the breed to be or what your interpretation of the breed is from, from general press.

[00:05:08] If you have a friend that already has the breed, then maybe dog sitting that breed would be good for you to really understand their little quirks and nuances. Also, I recommend doing some reading. So there's some great Bulldog books out there. Actually, I'll put those in the show links of the book. The breed books I recommend people to read as a new person to the breed and obviously this podcast so you're in the right place because there's tons of episodes for you to listen to so you've already ticked some boxes however I strongly, strongly recommend that you attend a dog show, regardless of whether you want a puppy to show or not. Attending a dog show is the easiest place for you to find all the breeders pretty much in your area in one place at one time and for you to see so many Bulldogs in one place at one time. I have emails come through people saying, Oh, I love your dogs.

[00:06:06] I'd love to come and visit you. Well, that's all one good, but A), you're a random stranger. coming around my house. And B), if I had that from every single person that wanted a Bulldog puppy, I would spend more time entertaining people than actually walking the dogs. On a one to one basis, that sounds like a really logical thing to do, but the practicality is, it's just not very practical.

[00:06:29] So whenever I get those type of inquiries, I always say, yeah, that's sure, like we can meet up, but it's best if we, if I'm at this show that you come along to this show, because not only do you get to see me, you'll get to see the all the other. Dogs that are there as well. Have a good conversation with all different types of people.

[00:06:45] We're just all Bulldog enthusiasts. And then we can go from there. That's why you should probably join your local breed club. So again, in the show notes, I will put a link to the kennel club that has a list of all the breed clubs actually, or maybe even the Bulldog Breed Council, either or they have a list of all the breed clubs and you should find the one that's in your area.

[00:07:07] And ask to join it. It'd be, you know, a couple of quid. They're so cheap. It'd be under a tenner or no more than I'm sure it's no more than 15 quid, but I would join that breed club. Then you will be sent when their shows are on. You're basically become part of their distribution contact list. So you'll find out when all their shows are.

[00:07:28] So you know when to go to whatever village hall, whatever sports centre and go and see everybody. And you don't have to be there all day. You could just pop in for the morning and get on with the rest of your day. But to me, that is the easiest way to get access to the right people to buy a puppy correctly.

[00:07:46] Otherwise, what can happen is you can go online, you can look at all these adverts, you can look at a fancy design website, but that can sometimes be a facade. It's really easy nowadays, you can use ChatGTP, you can use AI just to write you a blog or write you a introductory paragraph about you and your dogs.

[00:08:06] It doesn't mean it's true and it can sound really authentic. You really can't beat meeting somebody face to face and seeing their type of dogs and whether that's the type of Bulldog you're looking for and, and starting your relationship from that point onwards. You also need to consider, is the breed right for your lifestyle?

[00:08:26] I've put down exercise requirements, to be fair, they're minimal compared to some breeds. And obviously, even nowadays, you know, a lot of dog trainers are saying you shouldn't run the legs off of your dog. Like years ago, it was, oh, my dog needs to have two, two hours a day exercise over the field. Well, I believe nowadays most people would say, no, actually, maybe it should just be an hour and you should be doing enrichment activities like snuffle mats where you hide food around the garden or in a, in a dog game or toy.

[00:08:58] You should be using their brain and engaging their brain more because that actually wears them out rather than, wearing out their joints and increasing the chances of joint and hip and elbow issues just because you've run them non stop since they were eight weeks old. Now with a Bulldog, that's never going to be the situation.

[00:09:15] However, they do need regular routine exercise. And if I don't exercise my dogs, I will know about it. They'll start becoming destructive, slightly annoying indoors. Every dog needs exercising. There's no excuse not to take any dog out. With Bulldogs, they are on the lower end of exercise requirements. So it always makes me laugh a little bit when I see people rehoming dogs and they're like, I don't have time for them.

[00:09:39] Like, oh my gosh, if you can't have a Bulldog, like go and get yourself a teddy. You should never have owned a dog in the first place. Anyway, side note, but my Bulldogs are all road walked. So it's not a case of just chucking the dogs in the car, going to the local field, letting them off, chucking a bull, then wearing themselves out and then getting back in and coming back home.

[00:09:58] They are all road walked. So it's collar and lead, trot round the block, do your little circuit. So even that's different compared to how some breeds. and their exercise preferences. Also for you to understand about diet, sometimes you feel like you become a bit of a nutritionist trying to find out well what food is best for your dog.

[00:10:17] Obviously, I always say take the breeders advice and they should always be the first person that you ask before you change something. Then, obviously, there are vets and then there are specialists around nowadays. Many of the food companies have nutritionists to advise you, so Just don't go by because there's a pretty packet on the shelf, or it's, or the fact that it's stocked locally, all the food that I order for all my dogs is all mail ordered, and I can't go down the local pet shop to buy any of it, so just be aware of that, so that involves planning and scheduling basically, and also training and attention, so yeah, you're going to have, an extra object in the house that you need to look after.

[00:10:59] Like I keep saying, Bulldogs are different to most breeds. I mean, to be fair, my Labrador, if I don't take her for a walk, she'll come up and she literally nose taps me until I go, Oh my God, I'm just going to take you out. It's so annoying. Where a Bulldog will never do that. They don't come and pester you if they haven't got something, even like food wise.

[00:11:18] My Labrador had to change my bin. She'd go and search the bin, search the garden. She's constantly looking for food where a Bulldog. Very rarely do you see super skinny ones. So a Bulldog never really looks for food, but then they never say no to food either. Training and general care and attention.

[00:11:35] Yeah, you're gonna have, maintenance wise, you might have nose wrinkles, depending on how extreme, excessive the wrinkles are on your dog. You might have nose wrinkles that you need to look after, tail pocket you need to look after. Every dog should be at least brushed once a week. Check ears, anal glands might be a thing that you need to be doing.

[00:11:55] Trimming nails, if nails need to be trimmed. Some just general once over stuff, so that always takes a little bit of time. Some of the reasons I've had new owners not expect the Bulldog to be how they imagined a Bulldog was, and I have two examples. I had one lady who had had, always lived with working breeds she had Rotties at the time, and she had a Bulldog from me that she ended up returning because she said it was too clingy.

[00:12:25] And yeah, Bulldogs are, if you move from one room to another, they're following you, they're not sitting in a room by themselves, where my Labrador will go and happily, if we're all in the lounge in the evening, she'll happily go and sit in the, in the kitchen by herself, unattended, in the dark, doesn't bother her.

[00:12:44] I don't know if she's on guard duty, or if she just likes it to be so quiet, or she likes to call at areas anyway, so that might be a reason, but generally she does her thing until 10 o'clock and then she'll come in for an hour. And then she's done. Where the Bulldogs, whatever room you're in, they want to be with you.

[00:13:01] Even to the point my dogs, when our people use the toilet, they will follow you into the toilet. That's how much they want to be with you all the time, regardless of who you are. Some people might consider them clingy, other people might just consider them as they like the attention 24 7. I also had an instance where a couple said to me, I'd sold a Bulldog, sold a litter, and there's some basic checks that breeders will do.

[00:13:30] You kind of don't even realise that you do it now, but I always just ring their food bowls and, and, well, it's an easy way to tell them it's dinner time, so they will come running. But it's also a good way to work out if any have any hearing issues. Typically, any dog that's white is more prone to hearing issues.

[00:13:48] And to me, it's not really a massive thing in the breed compared to Bull Terriers, Dalmatians, where they do all the bare testing before they leave for their new homes. But it's always, as a breeder, just something to be aware of. Anyway. Had no problem with this litter, sent off this puppy, she's actually red and white.

[00:14:05] And then, a few days later, I get a call from the, from the owners. Might have been even a week later. I remember it was just before Christmas, that was the, the slightly annoying bit. And they said, oh, we, we think the puppy's deaf. So I thought, well, I didn't, I didn't suspect that in any way, shape or form.

[00:14:20] She's not the colour that I'd think that might be the case. I don't even think we'd use an external stud dog, so even in my head I thought, literally, there wasn't any concerns at my end. I said, no, that's fine, bring the puppy back, I shall go and get her hearing tested, and then we'll go from there. I had her back just before Christmas.

[00:14:40] Between Christmas and New Year I managed to get her hearing tested, because there's not actually that many places that do it. You just can't go to your local vet and get a dog hearing tested. I don't know if they thought I was being a bit shady, but they were like, oh can we come with you? I was like, well I'm not going to lie about it, but okay that's fine, obviously you're going to get a report.

[00:14:59] So they, they met me there, in we went, the technician, they actually put these needles underneath the skin all around their ears and head and stuff, and obviously send these waves through, and she exclaimed, this dog is not deaf, you just need to be more interesting. Which oh. If I could burst out laughing on the spot, I would have done.

[00:15:22] But basically she was being a Bulldog. She's being stubborn. Any dog trainer will tell you to train your dog. You have to be interesting. They have to want to be with you. And she obviously just didn't find them that particularly interesting. So she was just getting on and doing her own thing and totally ignoring them.

[00:15:40] Needless to say, I decided that I wasn't going to let them have that puppy back, and I placed it elsewhere, and yeah, there was no problems from that point onwards. But it just goes to show how much attention a Bulldog might need, depending on how stubborn they are and how interesting they find you. So that's a good thing about kids, because kids are always willing to give dogs full on attention all of the time.

[00:16:03] And the Bulldog is a companion breed. So originally, yeah, they used to bait bulls and have a whole fighting background. But that, their purpose was changed, and that's why they fall into the utility group. You have different categories of dog, like herding, gundog working. Toy, and I probably haven't named them all, but Utility is what Bulldogs are in, and I always think that's just the odds and sods kind of group of dogs that used to have a purpose that no longer exists, so the Dalmatian fall into that category, where they used to be a carriage dog, so they used to walk underneath and protect the carriages, obviously carriages don't exist anymore.

[00:16:39] You wouldn't want to walk underneath a car, so they are now in the utility group. So that's why the variation is so, so massive in utility group and why I think it's quite a nice group to be fair. But yeah, so you need to know the history of the breed and what you're going to get now. What, what they were designed for and what they are now are two totally different categories, but they are a companion breed.

[00:17:01] So they do love and thrive on human attention. Once you've decided the breed is right for you, how do you find a good breeder? Like I said, recommendation. You can do some online research in and you can go on the selling platforms now. The selling platforms would be my last port of call because ultimately what that relies on is you being able to distinguish within a short amount of time, whether that's a reputable quality breeder, and that could be quite difficult, where actually and what I do with anyone that inquires with me is I actually slow the process down and make it quite long winded so that naturally vets out anyone that isn't appropriate.

[00:17:44] So most of my people would have been on my radar at least six months, if not longer. So if you're not prepared to wait for a puppy, then I'm not the type of breeder. That you'll want and vice versa be prepared to, once you have the idea of I want a puppy, I would sign up to a breed club, your local breed club, find out when their shows are, I mean, you can, this is a good point because every breed club will have a secretary.

[00:18:12] They are great people to contact to say, we're looking for a litter. Are there any local A, you're getting somebody local, but B, also, hopefully it's a quality, quality litter. So without a doubt, sign up for a brew club for, for the pennies that it's gonna cost you. It's worth, it's worth doing. And as I say, be prepared to build that relationship over time.

[00:18:31] I slow it down. You can't just not knock on my door, but you can't just send me an email, even if I have a litter and I've put picture puppy pictures up. They're probably already reserved so you're, if you see a litter you're not getting from that litter it's going to be the litter after or the litter after that because everybody else on that litter has already served their time and waited patiently.

[00:18:52] So once you've found a breeder keep the line of communication open so obviously you don't need to hound them and hassle her non stop but sending a cheeky little email once a month just saying how's it going, is she in season, has the mating happened. Is there anything I need to be prepared for? And listen to what they say.

[00:19:09] There's so many people that you're receiving good advice, but you're just not listening to it. And also don't let a vet supersede the advice that your breeder is giving you. At best, judge both on an equal merit. So yeah, vets are great. They're amazing. Like the dogs themselves wouldn't thrive without having veterinary assistance.

[00:19:31] No different to humans and hospitals. But, they're not specialists, so, well, they're not breed specialists, they're medical specialists, but they're not, they're not breed specialists. Always, before you ever need to take your dog to the vet, just drop your breeder a line and just say, Is this normal? Is this the right thing to be doing?

[00:19:50] Because most of the time there's many home remedies that you don't actually need to be taking your dog to the vet. And they might just go, No, you just need to do this, this and this. Or they might go, No, that's really quirky. Run them down to the vets and let them know how you get on. So please just always just find out or just ping them a message in a non accusatory way to say, this has happened, I'm not quite sure what you think I should do.

[00:20:16] So please, please, please. And likewise, if you, if you take your dog to the vets and they've come up with some diagnosis and some treatment options, again, go back to your breeder and just double check that they are the right things to be doing. You can get second opinions. So. If a vet comes out with something crazy that just feels a bit off, you can always just take them to another vet and get a second opinion as to whether that's the right approach to be taken or not.

[00:20:41] So just remember that you're paying for the service, and you're paying a lot for it, so you can decide what's best for you and your dog. this is also a way for you to wean out the breeders that have experience or not. Because if you're asking these people and they don't know, and I'm going to cover the different types of breeders in a different episode, because there's this, there's a spectrum and a scale and yeah, I think you need to be aware of the types.

[00:21:07] And basically someone could have like a fully health tested litter and made all the effort, but if it's their first litter, they're probably not going to be able to support you going forward. with some of the inquiries you might have. So you need to be aware of, even though the pup might be bred to a good standard, even the knowledge behind it might not necessarily be the case.

[00:21:27] And yeah, everyone's got to start somewhere, so that's fine. But as long as you know, as a puppy purchaser, what you're walking into. Okay, so we've covered about, is the breed right for you? How do you find a good breeder? In my opinion, then I'm going to move on to securing the puppy. So this is where it's good to have a conversation with the breeder and ask them, like, why have you put this pairing together?

[00:21:48] Why have you decided to breed this particular dog to this particular bitch? Anyone that's anyone, they will be able to articulate what, why they've done that. Generally, it should fall into either from a health perspective, or more than one, more than one category, but at least from a health perspective, because parents are health tested to a certain standard, it might be, and there's nothing wrong with breeding from a DNA carrier, so they carry something, as long as that dog is put to a clear dog, then none of the puppies will be affected.

[00:22:20] So they could say, yeah, my female, she carries this. So I've got to make sure that my stud dog is clear on this. Excellent. Great. They're avoiding health problems. Amazing. It might be because of temperament. So I've already touched on, I mean, most Bulldogs are pretty good. They're pretty resilient. They're pretty tolerant.

[00:22:39] They're pretty laid back, but excessive shyness, I think is all shyness is something that a breed is tainted with a little bit. So they might've gone, do you know what? She's a little bit shy with new people. And we found this stud dog and he's totally bond proof, like he goes around, you know, the show circuit, he meets all types of people and he's not bothered.

[00:22:57] Brilliant, amazing. They've, they've assessed what they've got and they can articulate to you why they're improving it. Or it might be for confirmation or breed type. So, she's, oh, I'm trying to think of some nice things. So they might say, you know what, she's a bit tight in front, which means she doesn't have the right natural width to her front, or she needs a bit more chest, or she's a little bit nosy, her nose is a little bit too long, she hasn't got the correct layback, or she hasn't got a good tail, we want a better tail.

[00:23:28] There's thousands of things, but if you are buying from a breeder that can articulate why they've bred this female to this male and it's more than just because I want this colour of dog, or I think this is pretty, or I think I've heard one breeder say I like the teddy bear look, which if I got a, if I could have got a gun and pointed it to his head, I probably would have done then, if they have the ability to articulate a good breeding and not just, oh, the stud dog's local or, oh, we just wanted her to have one litter.

[00:23:59] That's not a, that's not a good reason to be breeding your dog in any way, shape or form. Then they're probably the type of person you should be buying a dog from. So again, have those conversations. in the interim between finding the breeder and puppies being born. Then also, and this is, I get why people say, Oh, can we come around your house?

[00:24:19] Cause basically what you're, you want to do is see what type of environment the dog's living in. Nowadays can send you pictures. Obviously you can get a feel for what their environment's like just by looking in the pictures. But yeah, you want to consider where are the pups being reared? Are they in the house?

[00:24:35] How are the pups being reared? What's the environment like? Is it clean and tidy? Is it? Hygienic, are surfaces wipeable, floors washable, all that kind of jazz. Have they started any puppy enrichment and socialisation? So literally are the pups just stuck in their pen as they've grown or did they actually get them out, are there toys?

[00:24:56] Do they play with them? What type of engagement toys are there? Have they started socialising them? the hoover on around them, the radio on? Have they ever been in the car? You know, what efforts are they putting in at this stage for when you take that puppy, they've already started them on their socialisation path?

[00:25:13] And then finally, what advice can they provide in the future? Some breeders might have a WhatsApp group, others a Facebook group. Others might just say, just ping me an email whenever you've got a problem, or give me a call. Or how do they plan to stay connected to you and offer you support going forward?

[00:25:32] It shouldn't just end on the day that you pick the puppy up or the day that the puppies had their final vaccination. It's an ongoing, yeah, communication, and yeah, of course, you might not need them from one year to another, but it would be nice to know that if you were to email them in three years time, that they're going to help you.

[00:25:53] It's not just, oh no, we bred, we bred our female, she's had her litters, we're not doing that anymore, sort yourself out, we don't care. You want somebody that's interested in the litters they produce, how they've grown, because ultimately and to a degree putting a shoe on the other foot, breeders will have puppy owners come to them going, yeah, we're going to send you pictures and we'll keep in contact with you and yeah, yeah, and tell all the things that you want to hear and then they drop off the face of the planet and you never see them ever again and you have no idea if that was for a good or a bad reason and obviously when, when a breeder puts a combination together, they really want to see what all those puppies look like as adults because that tells us whether that was a good combination or not.

[00:26:36] Without knowing what they've grown into, it's impossible for us to know whether we'd repeat that, whether we need to learn from that. And if we kept from the litter, we still only got one or possibly two puppies. You still need to know overall summary, was that a breeding that was worth doing? So it's always good, literally two, three years late, just go just to let you know, this is what he's looking like, like we're happy with him, we've had these ailments, or we've had this, or we haven't had anything, we're super pleased.

[00:27:05] One thing that I'm going to start doing for my Puppy owners that I'm going to start sending out an email once a year as a little bit of a health audit to say How are they getting on? Have they had any issues? How did you treat them? Blah de blah de blah because it's the only way of me knowing and proactively staying in contact with those people Once you're so many generations in, your memory only lasts so long.

[00:27:28] So I'm currently, I'm quite good at keeping a spreadsheet and a database, but I'm upping some of the information that I store on there because I can't solidly rely on my memory anymore. Yeah, just how proactive are they and how keen are they to hear from you in the future? And then finally, how do you pick the right puppy?

[00:27:47] I would always be guided by your breeder because different dogs will have different temperaments. For instance, if you live in a busy household, say you've got three kids and You're in and out, you're doing sports and that kind of thing, to have a Bulldog puppy that's slightly shy and quieter, that might be quite stressful for a puppy to be in that environment.

[00:28:09] But if you've got one that's bold as brass, quite confident, there, the breeder will be able to tell and place the right temperament in the right home. Obviously, it's only the beginning of, you still need to nurture that once the puppy's in your home. But I'd always be guided by the breeder knowing the different temperament types that they've got and matching that to your lifestyle.

[00:28:32] However, if there are elements that you should be looking out for to pick a puppy and you literally haven't got clue, you think all Bulldogs are beautiful and super wrinkly and all the rest of it. The things I would say to you would be pick the puppy with the longest neck. The perception is Bulldogs can't breathe or the rest of it or they have breathing problems.

[00:28:52] Then, by virtue, by picking the puppy with the longest neck, hopefully you're going to steer yourself away from those type of issues. Because generally, breathing problems come with shortened necks, excess skin around the neck, the nose, nostrils, the nostrils that keep closing up. So there's some basic checks as that you can look out for when you're picking a puppy.

[00:29:15] Now you're going to say to me, well, I don't know what a long neck is and a short neck is, but literally put your hands, your fingers down the side of that puppy's neck. And is it three fingers or is it two fingers? And you will find if you do it to all the puppies, they will have different lengths of neck.

[00:29:30] One will be two fingers. One will be three fingers. One might even be four fingers. That's a little tip I would give to you. Pick a long neck. Also look at nostrils and how open or not are their nostrils. I think once someone said to me once I had a female and they were like gosh you could fit your thumbs down their nostrils so that's where they were that open you could literally see straight down their nose.

[00:29:53] Again, with Bulldogs, There's a thing called stenosis and when they breathe in their nostrils can close up, which obviously is going to restrict their airways and it happens on all dogs, but the shape of their head and their nose is more apparent on Bulldogs. So I would pick the dog with the biggest nostrils, whatever one you can, you can see down them.

[00:30:15] They're not all closed up and they're not tight. Pick that one. Also, I'd pick the dog with the least wrinkles and I know. Some breeders, they're boasting about how many wrinkles they've got and that's, that's not good. That's an excessive extremity that shouldn't be encouraged. You should never have a nose roll that hangs over the nose.

[00:30:38] Now as a puppy, you might see that and again, this is where it comes to the breeder and having knowledge of their bloodline. You will have some bloodlines where the nose roll overhangs as a puppy and they grow into it and then there will be some bloodlines where the nose roll overhangs and it will stay overhanging so it grows at the same rate as what the head does and you'll kind of have this with tails as well you have some bloodlines where the Bulldog will grow into the tail others the tail grows with them so you you kind of need to know your bloodlines another You If you have a dog with a split nose roll, that's rather than having one solid nose roll over, it's two littler ones, the likelihood is that you're never going to have an overhanging nose roll.

[00:31:20] So just look at nose rolls and again, just if you see an overhanging nose roll, don't freak out, but then look at the parents and if they've both got overhanging nose rolls as adults, then yeah, the puppy's probably going to have an overhanging nose roll. But, if one hasn't, one has, then it could be 50 50, if neither has, even though the puppy has, it's probably not going to.

[00:31:41] This is the things that you need to be looking at when you, when you say, can I see mum and dad or pictures of dad and see mum, that's the level of detail you need to be looking at. Not that, yeah, she's alive and she's got four legs and she's walking around the room. My final other thing to look out for is the tail and does the tail, I'm not, I don't care too much to whether it's straight or not, though straight is preferable.

[00:32:04] Does it lift away from the body? Because the tighter the tail is to the body, the more chances you're going to have to have, you're going to have a tail pocket that you might have to clean. So just have a look at the tail and does it easily lift up away from the body? So there you go, they're the things that I think a pet person should be looking for when they're picking a puppy.

[00:32:23] Neck length, open nostrils, no excessive wrinkles, and that the towel is from the body. The things that you shouldn't be bothered about, the lowest priority traits, as A breeder is color, honestly, and I'm not even talking about fancy colors. I'm not even talking about your males, your lilacs and all that stuff.

[00:32:44] That's for a whole nother day. But if literally somebody comes to me and says, I want a dog that's got a patch over his eye, you're probably going to go to the bottom of the list because that's the last thing I even give two hoots about when I'm breeding dogs. There's so much more importance than coat color and eye markings.

[00:33:02] So, as I say, when I, I generally pair my puppies to their owners, they wouldn't have a clue if it's a mixed litter anyway. They're not, they haven't got a clue what colour dog they're getting. So, I'd be aware of that, in my opinion. So, if you're on a, I only want this colour dog, then you need to go to a breeder that only breeds those colours.

[00:33:24] But in, in my opinion, coat colour is one of the least important things that you should be looking for when you're buying a quality, healthy puppy. Another thing that you shouldn't be bothered about is whether the puppy has vaccinations or not, because there's a good argument as to why they shouldn't have their vaccinations until they're 12 weeks old.

[00:33:44] So that should make no difference whether a breeder vaccinates their puppies or not for your collection. However, I would insist that the puppy has been vet checked at least. And another thing you shouldn't care about is puppy packs, and I'm sure, like, some people are sending these pups off with, like, a 200 puppy pack.

[00:34:04] So, like, go and buy the stuff yourself. That's the joys of getting a new puppy, is that you get to take them and buy a new collar and lead, and bow and all that kind of stuff. So, a puppy pack shouldn't be a reason why you're buying a puppy. So that's it. I think I've banged on enough for this one, but I hope that you've appreciated some of the points that I've highlighted.

[00:34:26] Again, come to the community, add your two p's worth on what I've said, whether you think that's true or not. And yeah, we'll see We'll carry on the conversation there. See you later.

[00:34:41] Before you leave, make sure to visit Bulldogbroadcast. com for immediate access to the show notes, community forum, recommendations and episode extras.